Press Release
June 10, 2011

LACSON: I'M BEST ARGUMENT AGAINST P100-M PORK YARN
FOR ARMM POLL POSTPONEMENT

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Friday hit back at parties claiming senators who voted in favor of postponing the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were offered an added P100 million in pork barrel funds.

Lacson, who has rejected his pork barrel allocations since 2002, said he would have been the first to raise a howl had such a pork fund been dangled before senators.

"I am the best argument against insinuations of a P100-million pork dangle for senators who voted in favor of postponing the ARMM election," he said.

He also referred to those who spread such accusations as "crybabies," since they cannot accept the outcome of the proceedings in the Senate.

"The accusation being spread by the 'crybabies' who cannot accept the democratic vote in the Senate to postpone the ARMM elections is nothing but a canard," he said.

Lacson had rejected his pork barrel allocation, after seeing the temptation to use the pork barrel funds for graft.

By making sure his yearly "allocation" is stricken off the General Appropriations Act and returned to the National Treasury, Lacson has saved the government at least P1.8 billion in funds.

In the vote for the ARMM postponement bill, Lacson maintained the senators who voted for the postponement of the elections acted not on the basis of a pork offer, but on their appreciation of the points raised during debates on the issue.

On Monday night, the Senate voted 13-7 to approve a measure postponing elections in the ARMM, and synchronizing them with the elections in May 2013.

The ARMM elections were originally scheduled for August 8 this year.

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